Bourges Cathedral

Gothic Cathedral In The Heart Of France With Five Portals And An Unusual Double Aisled Plan Without Transepts; UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed 1992 · Bourges, Centre-Val de Loire

The Cathédrale Saint-Étienne stands on the highest point of Bourges, a small city almost at the geographic centre of France. Begun around 1195 and built mostly in the thirteenth century, it is one of the great early Gothic cathedrals, yet it follows a plan of its own: no transepts, and a tall central nave flanked by two aisles on each side, the inner ones higher than the outer, so the interior rises in steps like a pyramid of light. The west front has five carved portals, with a Last Judgement over the central door. The glory of the building is the thirteenth-century stained glass of the ambulatory, deep blue and red panels telling Bible stories and saints' lives at eye level. A crypt holds the tomb effigy of Duke Jean de Berry, and the north tower can be climbed; both are visited by ticket, confirm. UNESCO inscribed the cathedral in 1992. Around it lies a well-kept half-timbered old town, the Palais Jacques-Coeur, and the Marais market gardens along the Yèvre, and in summer the Nuits Lumière walk projects light onto the facade.

Place Étienne Dolet, 18000 Bourges, Cher, Bourges, Centre-Val de Loire, France

The cathedral is open to visitors every day of the year, with longer hours from spring to autumn and shorter ones in winter; entry to the nave is free. Tourist visits pause during Mass and are restricted on Sunday mornings, major feasts and during funerals and weddings, so avoid those times if you want to walk around freely. The crypt and the north tower climb are run by the national monuments body and are visited on a ticket, sometimes only with a guide at set times, and the tower can close in bad weather or high wind; confirm the current arrangements and last entry times at the desk inside the cathedral. The Palais Jacques-Coeur is open most days with guided or timed visits and closes on some public holidays. The Nuits Lumière illuminated walk has run on summer evenings, typically from May or June to September, starting after dark and free, confirm dates. During the Printemps de Bourges music festival in April the city is full and hotels sell out months ahead. Many shops and restaurants close on Sunday and Monday.

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